Reclosable pouring opening for containers



June 2, 1959 F. D. BERGSTEIN 2,889,101

RECLOSABLE POURING OPENING FOR CONTAINERS Filed Oct. 12, 1956 E610. la/

ATTORN EYS- l l r l 5 United St 2,889,101 Patented June 2, 1959 RECLOSABLE POURING OPENING FOR CONTAINERS Frank D. Bergstein, Hamilton, Ohio, assigner to Bergstein Packaging Trust, a trust composed of Robert M. Bergstein and Frank D. Bergstein, trustees Application October 12, 1956, Serial No. 615,585

13 Claims. (Cl. 229-17) This is a continuation-impart of my copending application, Serial No. 415,030, filed March 9, 1954, now abandoned.

My invention relates to containers which are particularly suited for liquids or other materials requiring a sealed condition of the container, and relates specifically to an improved reclosable pouring opening for such containers.

In my Patent 2,549,048, dated April 17, 1951, and entitled Liquid-Tight Carton and Method, I have disclosed the provision of a liquid-tight carton in which the carton ends are sealed by interior end flooding, the carton being provided across the inner surfaces of its end closures with relatively thick castings of sealing substance which bond to the end closures and to the adjacent ends of the carton body walls to provide a completely sealed structure. In accordance with the teachings of the patent, one of the end closures may be provided with a dispensing or pouring opening extending therethrough, the opening being covered by a liftable fiap member lying to the outside of the end closure. When the interior end casting is formed the sealing substance will till the pouring opening and bond to the inner surface of the liftable flap; and the subsequent lifting of the flap member will result in the fracturing of the casting `along a line determined by the periphery of the pouring opening, thus providing a plug-like element formed from the casting and 'bonded to the liftable ap member. The closure plug so formed may be readily reinserted in the pouring` opening to reseal` the carton.

The thickness of the closure plug is determined by the thickness of the several closure flaps through which the pouring opening is formed plus the thickness of the interior end casting. Since the pouring opening was formed through a plurality of flaps and the end casting was of substantial thickness, the resultant plug Was of ample thickness to effectively reseal the carton. However, I have now found that it is desirable in many instances to conne the pouring opening to a single flap member; but where this is done, the effective thickness of the plug-like element formed on the liftable ap is reduced to the extent that it is no longer effective `to tightly seal the container upon re-entry into the pouring opening. For example, where the pouring opening is formed through three layers of .020 boxboard plus the adhesive layers between them, there is a thickness of more than 60 thousandths or approximately 1/16 of an inch of sealing material in the pouring opening. In a single ply closure this is reduced by more `than or to about 150 of an inch, which is insuicient for a dependable closure. Similarly, I have found other instances wherein it is desirable to reduce the thicknes of the end casting or for that matter to eliminate it entirely, The positive pressure sealing of present day containers eliminates the need for interior end sealing for some uses, and in these instances the sealing substance will be confined to the pouring opening where it will form a reclosure plug. In accordance with the instant invention, l have provided a construction wherein the pouring opening may be confined to a single end closure flap and yet, due to the ared configuration of the opening, the thickness of the closure plug formed therein will be materially increased even though the thickness of the end casting is reduced to a minimum or eliminated entirely.

It is, therefore, a principal object of my invention to provide a reclosable container having a pouring opening formed therein which has an effective thickness which is substantially greater than the thickness of the closure member in which the opening is formed.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a reclosable container of the character described having a flared or flanged pouring opening which defines, in effect, a well or cavity into which sealing material or the like may be introduced to form a plug-like closure element or desired thickness.

These and other objects of my invention which will appear hereinafter or which will be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading these specifications, I ac- Complish. by that construction and arrangement of parts of which l shall now describe certain exemplary embodiments.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a carton blank having the pouring opening confined to a single closure flap.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken along the line 2-2 `of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view showing the top of the tubed and erected blank prior to infolding of the closure flaps.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the container with the top closure flaps in closed condition.

Figure 5 is a perspective View similar to Figure 4 but with the container in inverted position.

Figure 6`is a partial vertical sectional View taken along the line 6,-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a partial vertical sectional view similar to Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a completed container with the liftable flap member in raised position.

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 9 9 of Figure 8.

Figure l0 is a sectional view similar to Figure 8 illustrating a modified form of the invention.

Figure l1 is a partial perspective View illustrating an alternative form of carton construction.

Referringnow to Figure l of the drawings, I have therein illustrated a blank for an exemplary carton having a series of body walls 1, 2, 3 and 4 in articulation, with a glue flap 5 articulated to the free edge of the wall 4. Closure flaps 6, 7, 8 and 9 are provided at the tops of the body Walls. In the embodiment illustrated the fiap 6 is an enlarged flap and has formed therein a liftable flap portion 1li having extending flanges 11 and 12. Flap 7 is also an enlarged flap and it is provided with a pouring opening 13 arranged to register with the liftable flap 1li in the erected structure. The flaps 8 and 9, on the other hand, are narrow flaps which are adapted to be folded outwardly and secured in face-to-face contact with the extending edges of the enlarged flaps 6 and 7, as will become apparent hereinafter.

The body walls 1 through 4 of the container shown in Figure l will be provided at their bottom ends with suitable bottom closure flaps 14, 15, 16 and 17.` The arrangement of the flaps is such that they may benested top closure to top closure and bottom closure to `bottom closure in a continuous web, thereby effecting a substantial saving in material.

The container will be preferably made from paperboard suitably proofed in view of the nature of the liquid which is to be placed in it. The character of the proofing docs not, however, form a specific limitation upon this invention and the prooiingmay be accomplished in any of the ways known to the skilled worker in the art.

In accordance with theV instant invention, the pouring opening 13 is ared or anged about its periphery so as to effectively increase the thickness of the pouring opening beyond the thickness of the ap in which it is formed. As best seen in Figure 2 of the drawings, the pouring opening is formed with a iiared or anged edge 18 which defines a well 19 for the reception of the sealing substance. Preferably, the pouring opening will be flared upwardly toward the outermost closure ap in the manner illustrated in VFigures 2 and 3, although as will be pointed out hereinafter, the opening may be'ared downwardly, i.e. in the opposite direction, ywithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

The container blank of Figure l `will be tubed in the ordinary way through the use of conventional carton folding and gluing equipment. Where the container is to hold liquids, I prefer to tube it `with the glue iiap 5 lapped outside the free edge of the body wall 1, thereby juxtaposing the free side edge of body wall 1 to a corner of the carton. The longitudinal seam so formed may be then proofed by means of a continuous bead of sealing substance extending along the corner of the container in .accordance with the teachings of my copending application Serial No. 331,441, iiled January l5, 1953 and en- .titled Carton Sealed By Internal End Flooding, now

Patent 2,754,044, dated July l0, 1956.

As will be evident from Figure 3, the top closure is formed by outfolding the narrow liaps 8 and 9, whereupon adhesive, indicated by the shaded areas, is applied to the outfolded flaps and the ap 7 folded to overlie the top end of the container. The flap 7 is of a size such that marginal edge portions thereof will overlie the narrow flaps 8 and 9 and will bond thereto in face-to-face relationship. A marginal stripe of adhesive 20 will be applied to the supper surface of flap 7, whereupon the closure iiap 6 will be infolded to overlie the ap 7 to complete the end closure. The adhesive stripe 2@ is so arranged that the liftable flap member 1t) will be free from attachment to the underlying closure iiap; and I have found it desirable to provide a diagonal strip of adhesive 2l. on the under surface of the flap 6 in the area just beyond the liftable flap portion. The closed and sealed condition of the top closure is shown in Figure 4, it being understood that in the condition illustrated the liftable iiap member 10 overlies and covers the anged or iiared pouring opening I8.

Subsequent to the formation of a top closure, the container may be inverted to the position illustrated in Figure 5, whereupon the desired quantity of sealing substance `will be introduced into the container through the open end thereof. This -rnay be conveniently done by means of a nozzle 22 (Figure 6) inserted in the container. The quantity of sealing material introduced through the nozzle will depend upon the type of closure being formed. If the sealing material is to be confined to the well 19 so as to form a closure plug bonded to the liftableflap 10, the nozzle 22 may be centered over the pouring opening as illustrated in Figure 6, whereupon an increment of sealing material forming a plug 23 will be deposited into the pouring opening. Of course, if an end casting is to be formed in addition to the closure plug, the sealing substance will be supplied in a quantity sufficient to form an imperforate seal of the desired thickness across the entire end of the container.

It is also within the scope of my invention to form the closure plug and end casting from different materials. This is illustrated in Figure 7 wherein the plug portion A24 is formedfrom a rst material and the end casting 2S from a'dift'erent material introduced in the container through a second nozzle 22a. The use of different materials enables me to impart special characteristics to the plug which would be of no particular advantage in the end casting, or vice versa. For example, there are instances in which it will be desirable to form the plug portion from a relatively hard resinous material which will stand considerable abuse, whereas the end casting will be formed from a material which is resilient and capable of adherring tenaciously to the board from which the container is formed.

The nature of the sealing substance or substances em ployed does not constitute a limitation upon my invention. Furthermore, the term sealing substance as used herein denotes both plug forming materials and materials for forming the end castings. I prefer to employ a sealing substance which is thermoplastic in character and non-brittle when set. By reasonvof its brittleness, paratiin is not ordinarily advantageous as such, although mixtures of this wax with non-brittle microcrystalline waxes or the latter alone will serve. In some instances, however, ordinary paraffin will serve as a plug forming substance. Excellent results are obtained by using microcrystalline wax with or without paraffin but with the addition of resinous substances such as polybutenes, chlorinated terphenyls and others, which act to impart resilience and strength and increased bond, while still permitting the parting of the casting vif such is required. The sealing material will be introduced in a relatively thin and liquid condition; and where an end casting is formed, I have found it of assistance in distributing the material to rock or tilt the container prior to the solidification of the sealing substance. Warming the end of the container will also assist the sealing substance in penetrating all orifices and interstices in the container to form an imperforate seal.

It will be understood that the container will also be closed upon its bottom end by interfolding and adhesively securing the flaps 14, 15, 16 and 17. This may be done in the usufal way and with the usual apparatus while the carton is in the position illustrated in Figure 5. The manner in which the container is sealed does not constitute a limitation on my invention and the procedures taught in my copending application Serial No. 414,558, filed March 8, 1954 and entitled Containers Having Strong End Closures and Method of Making Them may be employed.

Upon being uprighted, the container may be opened by lifting the flap member 1t), as shown in Figure 8. This will be done after the sealing material has solidified, but in the case of an end casting it is immaterial whether the casting shall have reached a particular stage of hardness, The lifting of the flap member 10 results in the opening up of a pouring opening defined by the anged periphery 18 of the pouring opening, the sealing material occupying the Well 19 coming out as a plug 26 in adhesive union with the raised flap 10. The container may be reclosed by folding flap 10 to its original position in which the plug 26 enters the iianged pouring opening to form an effective reclosure.

Figure 9 illustrates an end closure incorporating an outwardly flared pouring opening and an end casting covering the entire end of the container. Where the opening is flared outwardly, the plug 27 will be of a thickness substantially equal to the depth of the ared opening plus the thickness of the casting 28 at the sides of the opening. While the flared opening 18 is generally frustoconical when viewed in section, as in Figure 9, I have found that the plug 27 when it is broken away will have generally vertical walls, as illustrated. This results in a sealing material-to-sealing material contact throughout the depth of the plug which I have found to be highly desirable for a liquid-tight reclosure. The closure may be readily resealed by applying sufficient heat to the ends of the container to cause edge portions of the` plug 27 to interfuse. and join with edge portions of the casting 28. It can be pointed out also that upon reclosure the flared or flanged edge of the opening will be flattened to some extent, thus tending to exert a gripping action on the plug.

While I prefer to direct the flared or flanged portion 13 upwardly or outwardly in the direction of the liftable flap member l0, it is also within the spirit of my invention to turn the flared or hanged portion downwardly or inwardly in the manner illustrated in Figure 10. As therein illustrated, the peripheral flange 18a extends in the direction of the internal end casting 28a, but this nevertheless results in the formation of a well 19a which will receive the lling substance and provide a plug of the desired thickness and of generally frustoconical configuration, such plug being indicated at 27a. It will be evident that the well 29a may be used to provide a plug analogous to the plug 23 illustrated in Figure 6, the sealing material being limited to the contines of the well.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the provision of a ilared or flanged pouring opening results in the definition of a plug having a thickness considerably greater than the thickness of the flap in which the pouring opening is formed, thereby eliminating the necessity of providing a pouring opening defined in a plurality of flaps, as was required in the teachings of my aforementioned patent. In particular, the outwardly ared construction of Figure 9 enables me to provide a plug and end casting which results in a tighter and more perfect closure than is otherwise obtainable.

It will be understood that upon completion of the end closures and the formation of the closure plug, the container is in condition to be filled withthe desired liquid contents. Such contents are introduced through the filling opening, and when the container has been filled to the desired level the ap is folded to the closed position followed by the folding or crimping of the flanges ll and l2 about the extending lip defined bythe narrow flaps 8 and 9 and the extending edges of closure ap 7. As already indicated, heat may be supplied to the end closure to fuse the closure plug in the closed position.

While in Figure 6, I have illustrated the introduction of the sealing material into the well 18 by means of a nozzle inserted into the container body, it is also within the spirit of my invention to form the plug 23 prior to the erection of the container body walls or else as an incident of the formation of the top closure. To this end it is desirable to articulate the closure llap 7a to a side edge of the closure ap 6, as seen in Figure 1l, the upper edge of the body Wall 2 being provided with a narrow outfolded ap 7b. With this arrangement, it will be evident that the ap 7a may be folded and juxtaposed to the ap 6 with the interposition of adhesive therebetween, such as the adhesive area 21, thereby juxtaposing the dared pouring opening 18 to the under surface of the liftable Hap member 10.

With the flap arrangement just described, it will be evident that the flap 7a may be juxtaposed to the ap 6 and secured while the remainder of the blank is in the condition illustrated in Figure l, whereupon the increment of sealing substance may be introduced into the well f8 and permitted to solidify, whereupon the blank may be tubed and subsequently erected and sealed. Alternatively, the container blank may be rst tubed and erected to the position of Figure ll, whereupon the two flaps may be juxtaposed and held in a horizontally disposed position with the flap 7a uppermost, whereupon the sealing substance may be introduced into the well and the plug cast in situ against the under surface of the liftable llap portion 1t).

Additional modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit of it. For example, while I have described my invention in connection with a dared or flanged pouring opening as would be formed by embossing or forming the paperboard in a die, the flared pouring opening could be formed by means of a series of spaced apart radially disposed slits which,

6 when displaced from the plane of the closure ap, will define a well of the desired thickness.

Having thus described my invention in several exemplary embodiments, what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A container having an end closure comprising a single thickness full width closure flap perforated to provide a dispensing opening, and an imperforate liftable ap member overlying and covering said perforation, said full width flap being flared about the periphery of said perforation to dene a Well having a depth in excess of the thickness of the end closure ap in which said perforation is formed, and a casting of sealing: substance filling said well and contacting that portion of said liftable i'lap member uncovered by said perforation, whereby when said liftable flap member is raised, said casting will break away from said ared opening to form a plug having a thickness in excess of the initial thickness of said full width closure iiap, thereby providing a plug portion adapted to reenter said flared opening to provide a tight seal for said pouring opening.

2. A method of providing a reclosable plug for a dispensing container having an end closure comprising a single thickness full width closure ap perforated to provide a dispensing opening and an imperforate liftable flap member overlying and covering said opening, which comprises the steps of flaring said full width clo sure ap about the periphery of said opening to define a well having a thickness substantially in excess of the thickness of the closure flap in which said opening is formed, and depositing in the well so formed a measured increment of sealing substance suicient to fill said well and permitting said sealing substance to solidify in situ so as to provide a closure plug bonded to said liftable flap portion.

3. The method claimed in claim 2 wherein said pouring opening is flared in the direction of said liftable flap member.

4. The method claimed in claim 2 wherein the said pouring opening is ared in the direction opposite said liftable flap member.

5. The method claimed in claim 2 wherein the increment of sealing substance introduced into said well is a part of an end casting covering the entire exposed inner surface of said full width flap member.

6. A dispensing container having an end closure com prising a single thickness full width closure ap having a perforation therein, a liftable flap overlying said full width ap and the perforation therein, said full width ap being flared about the periphery of said perforation in the direction of said liftable flap so as to define a well of substantial thickness, and a casting of sealing substance filling said Well and bonded to the portion of said liftable flap exposed by said perforation, whereby to provide a plug of sealing substance bonded to the said liftable tlap and capable of being withdrawn from said perforation when said liftable ap is raised and reinserted therein when said liftable ap is lowered.

7. In a reclosable container having an end closure comprising a single thickness full width closure iilap perforated to provide a dispensing opening, a liftable flap member overlying and covering said opening, said full width ap being ared about the periphery of said opening to detine a well having a depth in excess of the thickness of said full width closure flap and closed at its bottom by said liftable flap member, and a casting of sealing substance on the interior surface of said full width closure tlap, said liftable flap member in lifted condition having a plug of sealing substance formed thereon broken away from said casting and defined by said well, said plug having a thickness equal to the combined thickness of said well and said casting and adapted to be tted into said well to reclose said container.

8. In a carton wherein a wall having a perforation therein is covered by an imperforate flap overlying said perforation, and wherein a casting of sealing substance covers said wall interiorli/andalso.that portion of the flap uncovered by said.` perforation, so 'that when said flap is raised, a portion of .the casting substantially outlined by the periphery of said perforation will break away fronrtne remainder of the casting to form a plug having a thickness equal to the combined thickness of the remainder of the casting and the thickness of the wall in which said perforation is formed, the improvement which consists in flaring the said Wall in the area surrounding said perforation to define a well closed at its bottom by the said liftable liap member, whereby the Well so formed may be filled with sealing substance to effectively increase the thickness of said plug without increasingrthe thickness Yof the end casting or the thickness of theisaid Wall.

9. A container having an end vclosure comprising a single thickness full widthclosure ap perforated to provide a dispensing opening, an imperforate liftable flap member overlying and covering said perforation, said full Width ap being flared about lthe periphery of said perforation to define a weil having a depth in excess of the thickness of the end closure flap in which said perforation is formed, and an interior casting of sealing substance covering said full width flap interiorly, filling said well and contacting that portion of said liftable flap member uncovered by said perforation, so that when said liftablefiap member is raised, a portion of the casting substantially outlined by the periphery of said flared opening Vwill ybreak away from the remainder of said casting to Vform a plug having a thickness vin excess of the combined thickness of the remainder of the casting and the said closure flap, `vhereby the thickness of the end casting may be maintained at a minimum for proofing the interior of the container and yet the plug portion will be of sufficiently increased thickness to provide a tight re* seal upon being inserted in said ared opening.

10. A container having an end closure .comprising a single thickness full width closure flap perforated to provide a dispensing opening, an imperforate liftable flap member overlying and covering said perforation, said full width flap beingV ared outwardly in the direction of said liftable flap member to define a well about the periphery of said perforation in excess of the thickness of the closure flap in which said closure fiap is formed, and an interior casting of sealing substance covering said full width flap interiorly, filling said Well and contacting that portion of said liftableflap member uncovered by said perforation, vso that Vwhen said liftable fiap member is raised, aY portion of said casting substantially outlined by the periphery of said dispensing opening will break away from the remainder of said casting to form a plug having a thickness in excess of the combined thickness of the remainder of the casting and the full width closure fiap, whereby the thickness of the end casting may be maintained at a minimum for proofing the interior of the container and yet the plug portion Will be of sufiiciently increased thickness to provide a tight lreseal upon being reinserted in said flared perforation.

l1. A container having an end closure comprising a single thickness full width closure flap perforated to provide a dispensing opening and imperforate liftable flap member overlying and covering said perforation, sai-d full width ap being ared inwardly about the periphery of said perforation to ,define a well having a depth in excess of the thickness ofthe end closure flap in which said perforation lis formed,V and. an interior casting of sealing substance coveringsaid full vWidth ap interiorly, filling said well and contacting that portion of said liftable Hap member uncovered by said perforation, so that when said liftable flap member is raised, a portion of the casting substantially outlined by the periphery of said flared opening will break away from the remainder of said casting to form a plug having a thickness in excess of the VCombined thickness of the remainder of said casting and theL thickness of the full width closure ap, wherebythe thickness of the end casting may be main- .tained at a minimum for proofing the interior of the container and yet the plug portion will be of suiciently increased thickness to provide a tight reseal upon being inserted in the said ared perforation.

12. A method of forming a reclosable plug on the liftable flapV portion of a dispensing container which comprises'providing a dispensing end closure having a first closure flap with a dispensing opening therein, and a second closure flap having a liftable ap portion, flaring said first named closure flap about the periphery of said dispensing opening, juXtaposing said two closure fiaps with the liftable flap portion of said second named closure ap overlying said `dispensing opening, said flared dis pensing opening defining a well closed at its bottom by said liftable flap portion, and introducing into the well so formed a quantity of Vliquid sealing substance sufficient to substantially ll said well and bond to the exposed surface of said liftable ap portion, and permitting said liquid sealing substance to harden in situ, thereby providing a closure plug of substantial thickness and mating exactly with the periphery of said dispensing opening.

13. A method of providing a reclosable plug for a vdispensing container having an end closure comprising a single thickness full width closure ap perforated to provide a dispensing opening and an imperforate liftable ap member overlying and covering said opening, which comprises the steps of daring said full width closure flap about the periphery of said opening to define a well having a thickness substantially in excess of the thickness of the closure flap in which the opening is formed, and forming in said Well a casting of sealing substance filling said well and contacting and conforming to the Wall surface thereof and bonding to that portion of said liftable flap member exposed through said opening, whereby when said liftable fiap member is raised, said casting will separate from said flared opening to form a plug having a thickness in excess of the initial thickness of said full width closure flap, thereby providing a plug portion adapted to reenter said flared opening to provide a tight seal for said pouring opening.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,549,048 Bergstein Apr. 17, 1951 2,553,590 Joswig May 22, 1951 2,654,914 Maier Oct. 13, 1953 2,721,688 Beymer Oct. 25, 1955 2,754,045 Kodat Iuly 10, 1956 

